On 10 December, the IFoA hosted a roundtable to mark the launch of a member-led report on how financial products can help people pay for long-term care.
Despite the rising number of people with care needs, the funding of social care as a share of gross domestic product is in decline. There is a lack of political consensus on how we can respond to this challenge - implementation of the second phase of the Care Act (2014) has now been deferred to 2020, and there are doubts as to whether these reforms will be introduced at all.
The current funding system is complex, and many people still do not understand that they will have to pay for their care needs. Financial planning for long-term care cannot be looked at in isolation from the entirety of someone's retirement income needs, and in the new post-freedom environment individuals are increasingly going to be faced with complex financial decisions. We therefore recommended:
- A comprehensive approach to collecting data on how people are using their assets post freedom and choice; and
- An awareness-raising campaign of the costs people face should they have care needs.
For details email [email protected]
The full report can be found at bit.ly/1JwICgf